Chapter 72: Waterspout

Chapter 72: Chapter 72: Waterspout

An hour later, Wang Peng was at his breaking point.

"I give up. When I fish by myself, I can at least catch a thing or two. Competing with you, I can’t even catch one."

"Tell me about it. Your Brother Nan is like a vampire. All the fish and shrimp are gathered right under his fishing rod."

Shi Zhile was sick of repeating how envious and jealous she was.

From the moment Jiang Yuxing cast his line, her rod had been completely dead. Forget small fish and shrimp, she hadn’t even reeled in a plastic bag.

Jiang Yuxing smiled and lifted his rod again. This time, there was a glittering gold treasure chest.

He opened it with a smile and handed the woman’s outfit he got from it to Shi Zhile. "A vampire? In your mouth, I’m either a vampire or a fox spirit. So I’m that good-looking, huh!"

Shi Zhile was startled by his suddenly close face, and she sat up straight to continue fishing.

Through the heavy snow, Shi Zhile vaguely saw her bobber move. She watched with full concentration, and this time, the bobber sank straight down.

She jerked the rod up, but before she could get excited, she saw a plastic bag full of seawater hooked on the line.

[Trash Bag ×1]

Wang Peng laughed until he was out of breath. "HAHAHA, a trash bag? Zhile, your luck is just unbeatable."

Before his laughter could die down, his rod moved too. He lifted it gleefully.

[Worn-out Shoe ×1]

This time, it was Shi Zhile’s turn to laugh. "The pot calling the kettle black. You say my luck is unbeatable, but yours isn’t half bad either."

Remembering she also had one shoe back at the shelter, she cast her line and flopped back onto the lounge chair. "I have a single shoe at my shelter, too. I’ll give it to you when we get back so you can make a pair."

Jiang Yuxing laughed out loud without holding back.

At noon, the three of them started a stove and roasted three fish.

The fish were provided by Jiang Yuxing and personally roasted by Wang Peng.

Full and content, the trio continued fishing.

At two in the afternoon, the wind and snow on the sea intensified. The waves swelled, and the boat bobbed up and down on the water.

The tent the three were in was whipped by the wind with a loud FLAPPING, and was nearly blown over.

A gale swept over them. Looking out through the tent’s window, the sky was terrifyingly gloomy. In the distance, amid the rumbling thunder, a massive column of water was spinning relentlessly.

The waterspout moved slowly, creating a black whirlpool wherever it passed.

The roar of the wind was deafening. It all happened too fast.

Shi Zhile steadied herself, gripping the edge of the tent tightly with both hands, and shouted to Jiang Yuxing, "Do we go into the space or brave the storm and run back to the cabin?"

Jiang Yuxing raised his hand, stowing everything in the tent into his backpack, then grabbed Shi Zhile, quickly unzipped the tent, and rolled out.

Wang Peng followed close behind. The instant the three of them got out of the tent and into the cabin, the tent was swept up by the wind into the waterspout.

Jiang Yuxing’s expression was calm. He waved his hand to open his panel. "Calm down. First, put everything in the cabin into our backpacks. I’ll create a cockpit to steer the sailboat back. Once we’re back on the island, we’ll be safe."

The waterspout moved forward, and the sailboat was showing signs of losing control.

Controlling the sailboat consumed too much spiritual power. Struggling against the strong wind, Shi Zhile was finding it difficult.

[Attacked by strong winds. Controlling the sailboat: spiritual power -20. Player spiritual power: -1 per minute.]

Shi Zhile’s original Spirit Value was 21, which meant she could at most sustain the sailboat’s struggle against the strong winds for less than a minute.

Her head was buzzing. She shouted, "My Spirit Value is running out!"

Jiang Yuxing: "Open the sailboat’s permissions. I’ll take control."

Shi Zhile quickly opened her panel and approved Jiang Yuxing’s binding request.

The moment Jiang Yuxing took control of the sailboat, Shi Zhile collapsed to the floor. Wang Peng pulled her up and then quickly started stowing the remaining supplies inside the cabin.

The boat moved toward the island, but the waterspout grew larger. The wind blew the cabin door open, and Wang Peng immediately rushed over to block it.

Shi Zhile: "The waterspout is bigger! If we get swept into it, we’ll be maimed if not killed. Let’s stick together. If the sailboat loses control, we’ll abandon ship and hide in the space immediately."

Abandoning the ship would be their last resort.

The two-masted sailboat was large, but it was minuscule in front of the massive whirlpool of the waterspout.

The Planting Space and Breeding Space weren’t big enough to contain the sailboat. If they put the sailboat directly into their backpacks, they would instantly fall into the water.

With their combined weight, they’d likely be sucked into the waterspout the moment they left the boat. Right now, abandoning ship was the only way to survive.

Under Jiang Yuxing’s control, the cabin rapidly grew larger and taller. A ship’s wheel appeared inside the cabin, and Jiang Yuxing smiled with satisfaction.

Their field of view widened, and they could see the distance more clearly. The dark waterspout was receding, a sign that the sailboat had nearly escaped the strong winds.

Jiang Yuxing controlled the ship’s wheel. "It’s not time to abandon ship yet. We’re only a hundred meters from shore. Looking at the waterspout’s path, your island won’t be spared either."

Wang Peng moved a rock to block the door and walked over to the other two. "I checked the chat channel. No other players went out to sea today, so no one else has encountered this waterspout. We’ll have to wait for more information."

The sailboat stopped at the shore, and the three of them disembarked quickly.

The moment the sailboat was stowed in a backpack, a piercing system notification echoed in their minds.

[Ding! Hidden Map Triggered—sunken ship ruins: At the center of the waterspout, in the depths of the sea, lies a giant ship that sank into the deep ocean. Danger and opportunity coexist. There may be unexpected rewards on the sunken ship. Players are advised to proceed.]

Shi Zhile froze on the spot.

’The center of the waterspout? The depths of the sea?’

’Could this waterspout be the entrance to the sunken ship ruins?’

The sunken ship ruins were in the deep sea. Although she had a diving suit, her remaining oxygen wasn’t enough to support a trip that deep.

She turned to look at the sea. "The waterspout is still approaching. If we can’t stop it, the shelter will be in danger."

She enlarged her system panel, displaying the hidden quest. "A hidden quest was triggered. According to the prompt, the entrance is probably inside the waterspout."

"I have the map to the sunken ship ruins. Should we risk it and take a look?"

Shi Zhile and Wang Peng looked at Jiang Yuxing at the same time.

Jiang Yuxing’s lips curved into a slight smile. "Why not? Hidden quests are even harder to come by than dungeons. Since we’ve triggered it, let’s go. We might find something unexpected."

He was too calm. So calm that Shi Zhile couldn’t help but suspect he knew all along that a hidden quest would be triggered at sea today.

Wang Peng had a determined look on his face. "Alright, let’s do it. But how do we get there?"

Jiang Yuxing: "Zhile has the map. The hidden quest will come to her. We just have to stand here and wait."

Shi Zhile: "So... how do you know all this so clearly? Is it that precognitive Passive Skill of yours again?"

Jiang Yuxing nodded.

Shi Zhile didn’t believe him one bit. "Sometimes you don’t seem like a player, but more like a game developer who designed this whole thing."

"Tell me, did the game developers pull all of humanity into this game because Earth was about to be destroyed, or are they selecting seeds of civilization before humanity goes extinct?"

Wang Peng glanced furtively at Shi Zhile, then looked at Jiang Yuxing without a change in expression.

When he saw Shi Zhile looking at him, he immediately averted his gaze, looking at the sky, the ground, the sea—anywhere else.

Shi Zhile silently moved closer to Jiang Yuxing.

Wang Peng suddenly shouted, "The waterspout is here!"